New York City Increases Spending, Bolstered by Tax Revenue Boost

New York City will restore $10 billion worth of services that had been cut from the budget due to the coronavirus crisis, thanks to rising tax revenue and federal aid.

The $98.6 billion fiscal budget Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed would be the largest in the city’s history, and a significant increase from the $88.19 billion budget approved last year, amidst a pandemic-induced economic crisis.

“It is a budget that takes the concept of a recovery for all of us and brings it to life with the right investments. This is what will allow for a strong recovery,” said de Blasio at his press conference on Monday. “It’s the same approach to put us on a strong fiscal footing for the future, because this recovery, it will also bring back so much of the revenue we need for the future as well.”

The proposal of the “recovery budget,” in the mayor’s words, would allocate $377 million to universal pre-K and 3-K programs, $50 million to a public health corps built on the city’s Test-and-Trace corps, $600 million to public schools and funding for special education for students with disabilities.

Funding will also be used further expanding the city beautification program, City Cleanup Corps, summer job opportunities to deter youth from violence, and mental health programs and mental health expert-led response teams that would be called to a mental health crisis instead of police, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In response to the surge in hate crimes over the pandemic, the city will also be expanding community patrols and the civilian-led boards that work with connecting police with the communities they patrol.

“This is what we’re focused on – a recovery that reaches every neighborhood, every New Yorker,” said de Blasio.

The City Council has until June 30 to approve the budget; Speaker Corey Johnson has indicated the Council approves it but expects more negotiations.

The city is able to present an ambitious budget in part because tax revenue was higher than expected, thanks to corporate and personal income taxes. Furthermore, the economic forecast is optimistic: the city regained 100,000 jobs  between December 2020 and March 2021, and experts are predicting another 400,000 more jobs to be added by the end of 2021.

Additionally, the most recent federal-aid package provided the city with $5.9 billion direct aid and $7 billion in education funding, which must be used by 2024.

In April, the state budget not only restored nearly all pandemic-related budget cuts, but gave the city more funds than it had the year before.

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smarcus@hamodia.com